How to warm up a new domain and email address

Learn the best practices for warming up a new domain and email address.

Before you begin

When setting up a new domain or email address, it's important that you allow enough time to build a credible domain and email reputation. The warmup process is essential in mitigating the chances of your emails landing in spam over time.

We have listed details and helpful tips below on what the warmup process looks like and why this is an important step of your outreach.

Warmup process

Spend sufficient time warming up your email and domain

Warming up a new domain or email address can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days. While you may be excited to get started right away, we highly recommend taking the full 90 days to properly build a reputable email reputation.

Start with low volume limits

New domains are usually treated as suspicious so sending emails under those new domains can also get your emails flagged as suspicious. Instead of mass emailing contacts right after the 90-day timeframe has passed, it's best to start with lower volume limits such as 20 emails per day.

As your open and reply rates increase over time, you can gradually increase your volume limits in small increments.

Keep your data updated

It's important to double check your data and make sure your email list is accurate and up-to-date. Using an outdated list can increase the risk of sending too many bounced emails, which can result in your email provider temporarily throttling your email account.

Email activity within your inbox

It's important to have email activity within the email inbox, especially when it's a new email account. This means sending outgoing emails directly from the inbox and having recipients reply to the email.

If there's only email activity from Interseller sequences and not much activity directly within the inbox, email providers may think the email account is being automated and can temporarily deactivate it.

We recommend emailing colleagues and friends so that they can reply to your emails and help build your reputation.

Increase email sending frequency

Increasing the amount of time in between each email allows for ample buffer time so your emails aren't being sent all at once. When emails are sent all at once, this can be seen as suspicious.

We recommend starting your email frequency at 300 seconds and slowly decreasing it over time.

Set up SPF and DKIM records

SPF and DKIM records are verification techniques to spoof your email and ensure any outgoing emails are actually sent from your email account and have not been modified in transit to the recipient.

It's important to set up these records to prevent your emails from bouncing. You can contact your email provider to obtain these records and add them to the domain's DNS settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I don't warm up my domain or email properly?

This could increase the chances of getting flagged as spam which could damage the reputation over time and you're less likely to actually reach inboxes or receive replies from contacts.

Will other users using the same email domain be affected if the domain isn't properly warmed up? 

If your teammates have the same email domain, they will also run into issues with email deliverability since the email domain is shared amongst the team.

How long does it take to repair a domain or email reputation once it's been flagged as spam?

Unfortunately, it's quicker to harm your domain or email reputation than it is to repair it. This process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks. If the domain reputation is irreparable, it's best to use a completely new domain.